


The New World

by Paparika



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Fallout 4 - Freeform, Fluff, Mental Breakdown, More of a longer story, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Suicide Attempt, Violence, kissy kissy, little new at this, might change rating later, you should read~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-05 05:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5363201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paparika/pseuds/Paparika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline has found herself thrown into a new world where everything she was happy with is now gone, a far off memory (that's like a scattered dream..sorry i had to. You cool if you get the reference) . She makes a variety of friends and companions in search of her son and begins to find herself slightly attracted (and slightly annoyed) with a particular ghoul. However, when she finds herself struggling between the memories of her old life and the reality of her new one, and the possibility of never finding Shaun, will she be strong enough to keep going?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My New World

Caroline slowly lowered her hand that blocked the blinding light that shone done above her and took her first look at the scene in front of her. Her breath stopped as she took it all in. The green grass, the trees, the many houses and buildings that once stood in the distance were now nothing but decayed life and rubble. 

“H-how..nothing’s left…” she whispered to herself as she made her way down to her home, not taking her eyes off the environment around her. It felt like something out of a horror movie…Or like the story out of one science fiction comics her neighbor’s children would read and get excited over. A time traveler stuck in a future where everything was in destruction. All alone.  
Caroline shook her head. No. No. She felt her heartbeat quicken at the thought of being alone in a world she knew nothing about. How long was she in there? If Nate was still here….she frowned and closed her eyes, thinking of what he would tell her. “Don’t worry, Caroline. We’ll be fine. We just need to keep going.” 

“N-nate..” she choked out his name and resisted the urge to sob. Now was not the time to start losing it. Caroline quickly headed back to her house and stepped over broken lampposts and debris. Ahead of her she saw something metal sticking out from her old doorway. Coming closer, she realized it was a familiar face. 

“Codsworth!?” Her heart leapt for joy and she ran up to him. He survived. He really made it.

“Codsworth! Y-you’re still here. How?..” She couldn’t fight the tears coming out of her eyes and gave out a hoarse laugh. “So that must mean that maybe…others have survived too..”

“Well of course I’m still here! Surely you don’t think a little radiation could deter the pride of General Atomics International?” She laughed; his pride was one thing she believed nothing could destroy. Even a nuclear bomb couldn’t come close to doing it. 

“Mum? Where is sir?” He looked behind her and then behind himself. “Shouldn’t he be with you? And young shaun? Oh! Are they catching up?” He turned toward the distance and peered at the path leading to the vault.

Caroline felt her throat go dry. “No Codsworth…Nate won’t be walking down the path..nor shaun..” Codsworth looked at her. “What do you mean, mum?” 

“They…Someone…someone killed Nate, Codsworth. And they took Shaun too. My baby. I don’t know who they were. They froze us and I c-couldn’t stop them. “ She balled up her fists and stared down at her feet.  
“Mum…these things you are saying. These…terrible things…I believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction, to calm this dire mood.” Caroline looked up at him in disbelief. She knew that Codsworth was simply a robot but he knew better then to call this moment a ‘dire mood’ or to propose a distraction. She listened as he rambled about possibly playing checkers or charades. Again, she shook her head. “No. Codsworth, please. Listen. Maybe you’ve seen Shaun? Or anybody who entered or exited the vault? You must have seen someone!” She grabbed onto one of his metal arms and he moved back a bit. 

“Oh dear, Mum. I think this is worse than I thought. Maybe you are suffering from…hunger induced paranoia! Not eating properly for 200 years will do that I’m afraid.” 

Her eyes widened. Did he say…200 years? This would be the moment where she fainted and would wake up back in Nate’s arms and tell him about the craziest dream she ever had. But, she found herself still staring at Codsworth and blinking rapidly. “200 years….how?..”

“Well. 210. Give or take…You must be famished! How about I make you a proper meal!” Codsworth began to make his way back inside the broken down house and Caroline suspiciously watched him from behind. His tone had changed to an unusual uplifting tone that he never used unless he was hiding something. “Codsworth..are you okay?” 

He froze in place and she immediately noticed the change of atmosphere. He turned to her and spoke in the most broken voice she’d ever heard from him. “I..I..Oh mum! It’s been just horrible! Two centuries with no one to talk to! No one to serve! I spent the first 10 years keeping the floors waxed. But nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing. And don’t get me started on the futility of dusting a collapsed house! AND THE CAR! The car! How do you polish rust!?” 

She quickly went up and hugged him as he continued sobbing. He couldn’t cry real tears but the sobbing noises he made sounded no different from a real one. She frowned. He must have had it worse off. Being alone for over 200 years. With no one at all. It would drive anyone mad. Man or machine. 

“I’m so sorry Codsworth. It’s okay..,” she stroked the top of his metallic head and hugged tighter. “’I’m here now. But I need you to calm down a little and help me understand what happened, okay?”

He made a noise similar to sniffling and nodded. “O-of course mum. Forgive me for my outburst. I-its just that..I..I’m afraid I can’t tell you much. The bombs came and..all of you just started running..I thought you were all dead…” Caroline inwardly felt guilty. She wondered what other thoughts he must of had as he watched his family leave him behind as the bombs fell. Shaking her head, she focused back onto what he was saying. 

“Did you just say holotape?” She looked down at a yellow holotape he was holding in front of her. 

“Yes mum, it’s from sir. I believe he was going to give it to you..as a surprise. But then….everything happened..” He dropped it into her hand and she thanked him. “Mum, I believe its a good idea we looked around and go find young Shaun. Let’s explore the neighborhood, shall we?” Caroline nodded in agreement.

“Let me just..listen to this first, okay?” He nodded and went off and she sat on the side of the road and popped the holotape into her pip-boy.


	2. Doggie!

After listening to Nate’s voice and hearing Shaun in the background, she carefully took the holotape out of her pip-boy and put it somewhere safe. Codsworth came to check up on her and she quickly rubbed her eyes with the side of her arm.  
“I-I’m alright Codsworth..thank you for keeping this safe and giving it to me.” She stood up. What Nate said in the holotape gave her the confidence to keep going. If he was in her position, she knew he would search every corner of the world for Shaun. And that would be what she will do. She didn’t know what awaited her, but she was alive for a reason. Anyway…no one can track a boy better than his own mother.  
Caroline and Codsworth searched everywhere in Sanctuary Hills and she could see the amount of time that has passed in every crack and smudge on the walls and floors. She stayed a good half hour by Shaun’s crib and looked over at the dirt stained teddy bear lying on the floor. 

“Hey mister bear…what’s it been? 200 years?..” she sadly smiled at it and placed it gently in Shaun’s crib. “Sorry about that..” After an hour or so of searching and trying to find anything she sighed and shook her head. “Guess that’s all Codsworth. Now, I need to start looking for Shaun..he’s somewhere out there..”

“hm..Well mum. You should check out Concord. Plenty of people there! And last I checked, they only pummeled me with sticks a few times before I had to run back home.” The fact that he said the last part with such a hopeful tone made her chuckle nervously. So people were alive alright. Whether or not they were friendly was the real question now. “Well..that’s better than nothing, I suppose. Thanks Codsworth. I’ll find Shaun. And I’ll come back, okay?” 

She felt bad for leaving him again but she then was reassured when he happily urged her on her way and declared he would keep the home front safe. With a deep breath she walked over a little hill, past the houses, and looked into the distance. Endless miles of wasteland, bad guys, good guys, and who knows what else. She looked down at the pistol she found in the Vault. She was never uh…the shooting type. Nate taught her a few things but she never really hit anything. “If I’m lucky…hopefully nothing will cross my path..” With that in mind, she marched off toward what appeared to be some sort of truck stop.  
“Red Rocket huh..” She stared up at the broken, red sign and shrugged. Maybe it held some items she could use.

*Bark* 

Immediately she gasped and jumped frantically to the side, hands tightly gripping the pistol. When she realized she was aiming at a dog, who was looking at her like she was a complete fool, she laughed hysterically and became a child again. “A dog!” she smiled and looked up. “Thank you for at least sparing man’s best friend!” She couldn’t imagine a world without dogs. She had to admit, some people the world could do without. But dogs? No no no. All dogs were little angels. The German Shepard barked happily and stood up on its hind legs as it sniffed her body. “Whoa there boy. Are you here all by yourself?”  
The dog barked excitedly and circled around her. “Hm..want to travel with me?..” She laughed inwardly at the thought of the dog rejecting her then and there and just walking away. Would be sad for even a dog to see how unprepared she was for the danger that waited. If he was still out here, that must mean he survived whatever came at him for so long. Fortunately, the dog barked happily in response and licked her hand. “Alright then Doggie, guess we’re a team now.”

The dog must have been an angel since he seemed to patiently wait as she searched through desks, cabinets, and the terminal. “Not much..alright then, let’s get moving boy.” The dog barked in agreement and walked with her to the doorway. Outside, Caroline heard something like digging and low growls. “What the heck is that?” Her companion’s growling didn’t make her feel anymore better.  
From the doorway, a creature, about the size of a cat, maybe larger, ran inside making a high pitched hissing noise. Caroline screamed and jumped onto one of the tables. “IS THAT A RAT!?” Her companion pounced on the creature as it was distracted with her and bit deep into its side. Blood squirted out in all directions and the creature let out an ear piercing scream. Caroline noticed more digging noises in the distance and shook her head. I got to snap out of it, he’ll get hurt if I don’t help, she thought. Trembling, she quickly got down from the table and ran outside. “Rip the band aid off they always say!” she cried to herself as she aimed at whatever crawled out of the floor. 

Again. She wasn’t a real good shooter. She managed to shoot some of them in the sides and her companion would finish them off with a bite to the neck or by ripping off their limbs. However, she almost shot her companion a few times and would shout “S-sorry!” over the creatures’ cries. For a moment, she could almost see her dog let out a little huff. It took a while, but they managed to kill all of the remaining creatures. 

“They look like overgrown mole rats…” The dog sniffed some and moved them with his nose. He gave an unexpected growl at some of them; just to be sure they weren’t playing dead. She smiled at him. A dog companion was one of the best choices she made so far. Hope that keeps happening. “Alright boy, great job. Let’s move out.” He looked up at her and barked and the both of them walked off towards Concord. On the way, she felt the need to explain to him why she wasn’t a good shot and how she was sorry if she almost shot him and that she never shot anything before. Her companion looked ahead and listened as Caroline rambled on.


	3. Concord

As her and her companion entered Concord, she took note of how the buildings didn’t look that bad or destroyed. Thinking back to what she always thought about a nuclear bomb, she expected that nothing at all would survive. That everything would be in dust or rubble. They searched a few of the open building and found some useful supplies. “Not bad…” The dog barked in agreement and she turned to see him holding a toy alien in his mouth and looking up at her with playful eyes. “Aww, wanna play? A quick throw won’t hurt.” She grabbed a hold of the stuffed toy and threw it across the street. Her companion zoomed across and began growling and shaking it with his teeth. Dogs were the best creatures in the world. 

“Alright buddy I think you tore it enough that throwing it again will make it fall apart.” She bent down next to the ripped up toy and patted his head. Gotta keep a lookout for more of these things, she thought. Her companion whined and she saw his ears twitch and angle themselves to the side. “What’s wrong boy?” He looked off down one of the streets and she carefully passed the cars and peeked around the corner of a torn down shop. Ahead of her, she could see a gun fight between people on the street and a man on the balcony of some museum. “W-whoa.” Examining the people on the ground, she was surprised to see them wearing rags and metal armor and one was wearing a gas mask of some sort. Their weapons looked more bigger than hers and more advanced. 

“We’re going to kill you fucker!” one yelled up at the man on the balcony. A moment later the same shouter was shot in the head and Caroline watched in horror as the back of his head exploded and his brains splattered outward. Her companion growled and was about to charge into battle until she blocked him with her leg. “Are you crazy!?” she hissed at him. “J-just wait a minute!” She turned and pinpointed where each of the enemies were. There weren’t too many, as far as she could see. But was she really prepared to kill someone? She looked at the man on the balcony and saw desperation on his face and the quick glances at his gun with his eyes made her feel that he was running out of bullets. She had to help him. 

“O-okay. Boy, you get the guy on the left and I’ll take out the one on my right. Got it?” She felt silly a bit, wondering if her dog even knew what she was talking about. But something told her that he had some sense of her plan as she motioned towards the enemies with her hands. He gave a bark and darted towards the man on her left, pouncing on him from behind and biting into the back of his leg. She turned the corner and began shooting at the man in front of her, hitting the lower part of his back. He yelped out in pain and fell to the ground. Another woman up front turned and opened fire and Caroline threw herself behind an rusty old car. She covered her head and peeked under the car to see the woman’s feet running towards her. Her companion jumped over the hood of another car and landed onto the woman, biting into her neck and not giving her a chance to shoot him. Caroline shot at the others left and managed to kill them all off.

Adrenaline high, she had to calm herself down and slowly lower her gun. Her hands trembled and feelings of guilt, horror, and fear clouded her mind. “I-I j-just…I killed people…” she murmured to herself. She could feel herself go lightheaded and sway a bit. Does that make her a murderer? When was it right to kill someone? 

“HEY! YOU! UP HERE! ON THE BALCONY!” came an anxious shout above her. Her head snapped up and she could see a man looking down at her. “I got a group of settlers inside and the raiders are almost through the door! Grab that laser musket and help us! Please!” Caroline looked around on the floor. Laser musket? What does a laser musket-

She picked up a gun that lay beside a bloodied corpse and quickly grabbed it. Turning to the door, she felt her heart drop. What if she only just got lucky? “…don’t start something you can’t finish..” She whistled for her companion to come closer and slowly opened the door to the museum.   
Once inside, she was greeted with more raiders. Lucky for her, they were shooting at something else. She took that moment to aim carefully at them and take them from surprised. Their bodies fell onto the floor behind a locked gate door. Her companion growled at the doorway to her right and she turned just in time to shoot another raider who was peeking into the room. “Come on boy lets go” Both of them entered the doorway and entered a room where bright lights turned on and mannequins were scattered everywhere. A sigh of relief left her lips. “O-oh god, I thought there were ten of them in here.” The dog barked and they made their way through different rooms and areas, killing any raiders they encountered. She even managed to pick lock a door and grab some sort of fusion core. It was good to assume it’ll come in handy later.   
Maybe it was luck or maybe it was survival instinct. Whatever it was, it sure helped her fight her way to where the trapped settlers were. She entered the room wearily, keeping a small grip on her pistol. Hopefully these people were friend. The man she saw on the balcony lowered his weapon when she entered the room.

“Ma, I don’t know who you are, but your timing is impeccable. Preston Garvey, Commonwealth minutemen.” He said with a small smile.


	4. Power Armor

Caroline looked down at her companion and then back at Preston. “Minuteman? Weren’t they…more common in the past?” 

“Brought back after the events of the war. Protect the people in a minutes’ notice. That was the idea. So I joined up, wanted to make a difference. And I did, but…things fell apart. Now It looks like I’m the last Minuteman left standing.” He sighed and rubbed eyes tiredly. Caroline looked past him at the others who looked pretty scared, angry, and unstable. “Who are they?” she asked him, watching as an old woman looked up at her from the couch.  
“Just folks lookin’ for a new home. A fresh start. There was 20 of us a month ago. Now there’s just five..it’s just me, the Longs, Marcy and June, and that’s mama Murphy on the couch. And beside us working on the computer is Sturges.”

“I’m sorry…” she didn’t really know what say. She was already trying to get a handle on what happened to her, it was hard hearing on how fast good people were getting killed off.

“It’s alright…I’m just glad there are still people like you who care. We thought this place was safe, but with the raiders…I don’t know. Thankfully, we have an idea. Sturges.” He turned to the man beside him.

Sturges smiled and began to explain the master plan to Caroline. She listened as he excitedly told her about the power armor just waiting to be used to “rain hell” on the raiders. He spoke with such hope that she couldn’t help but offer her assistance to them. They smiled hopefully at her and explained she would have to find a pre-war fusion core that could power it up. “No problem, boys. I already got it.” She pulled it out for them to see and Sturges let out a loud laugh. “I got a feelin’ you are gonna be a great asset to this team, little lady.”

Preston smiled and looked at her, “That’s great. Now all you got to do is power it up. And show those raiders that they picked the wrong fight.” 

“I’ll do my best. You stay here boy.” She petted her companion and made her way to the roof. It wasn’t easy picturing herself in a power armor suit. “Housewife and mother killing raiders in a power armor suit two hundred years after a nuclear war, in a world where you kill or be killed.” She opened the door to the roof. “That’s one for the books.”

After powering up the power armor, she entered the suit. It felt a bit cold and uncomfortable but she noticed that the minigun she carried didn’t feel as heavy as it would have been if she’d picked it up without the suit. The sense of power kind of gave her a thrill. She took down as many raiders as she could see from the roof level and jumped down onto the ground level in order to get the ones who took shelter. The ground made a loud THUD as she landed on it. “Ow ow, okay it feels weird when I do that. Noted. Don’t jump off of high things too much.”

She proceeded to shoot at the rest of the raiders until she heard a loud growl, louder than her dog’s. A huge clawed hand burst out from underneath a metal street panel and a massive creature crawled out. Caroline’s eyes grew wide “WHAT IS THAT!?” The creature stood up, larger than her, and slashed at the raider in front of her, spraying blood onto the floor around and a bit on her power suit. She turned and booked it but realized with the suit on, she wouldn’t outrun it. So instead she turned and open fired. The creature zigzagged down the street towards her, trying to avoid the spray of bullets. She could feel the minigun heat up, signaling a cooling period approaching. It’s not dying!? She screamed in her head. WHY!?  
She looked up at the creature and saw it speed up towards her. Until its fixed gaze on her focused to something beside her. She turned to see her companion running full speed at it, baring teeth, and growling ferociously. He jumped on the creature, sinking his teeth into its arm. The creature shook itself intensely and swiped at her companion. She took this time to let the minigun cool a little before aiming and the backside of the creature. The creature swiped a final time at her dog and knocked it onto the hood of a car. She gasped, “No one hurts my dog you ugly bastard!” It turned towards her and roared. She let the bullets fly as it raced towards her she was glad to see it stumble halfway and collapse onto the floor, right in front of her feet. She shot a bit more into its head for good measure before running over to her companion. He whimpered and struggled a bit to get up. “Hey boy, are you okay!?” After a couple of moments he shook himself off and barked up happily at her. “Huh..seems like you are tougher than you look huh?” from the look of his eyes she could tell he was thinking the same way about her.


	5. The Vision

They returned to Preston who was more than thrilled at Caroline’s success. “Thanks you for everything that you’ve done. You just jumped into action and helped us on the spot. For that, here.” He handed her some caps and fusion cells. She stared a bit confused at the caps but thought it best to ask at a later time. 

“Come with us.” He offered. “We’re heading towards a place Mama Murphy has been having in a vision that’s a place called ‘sanctuary’. A place we can settle.” 

Sanctuary hills, that must be where they are going. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Mama Murphy staring intently at her. It wasn’t until Caroline looked directly at her that she spoke up. “Oh, its wonderful that you’ve helped us.” She smiled and looked at Caroline compassionately. “But there’s more to your destiny, isn’t there? I’ve seen it..You’re a woman out of time…your hope…I want you to know..I can feel your son’s energy..”

Her heart stopped. Shaun? She dropped to her knees in front of the woman sitting beside her and pleaded, “You know where my son is? Where is he? How?” Mama Murphy frowned, “I’m sorry, kid. I can’t see him…not like that…I can just feel his energy…but…you should start looking at the great green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond city. The biggest settlement around.”

Diamond City…sounds like something from the Wizard of Oz Story she heard as a child…She nodded, “okay. I will. Is he there though?” Mama Murphy sighed and Caroline noticed her voice grow tired. “I don’t know dear. My sight is faltering. Maybe later, if you bring some chems, I’ll be able to see more.” Caroline frowned. She hated chems. She never did chems. Knowing that this woman’s ‘vision’ was partly a result from the use of chems made her confidence of searching diamond city decrease. But…there was no harm in trying.  
Caroline stood up and looked at Preston. “I think it’s a good idea for me to check out Diamond City. If there is any chance of finding my son there, I have to check it out.” Preston nodded in agreement. “You follow your guts…” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I never asked for your name.” She smiled, “Its Caroline.” He smiled back, “Well then. Follow your guts, Caroline. You know where we are if you need anything.” With that, she got the supplies and directions she needed and made her way towards Diamond City.


	6. The Green Jewel

Caroline sighed and stared at the map on her pit-boy. “Of course Diamond City wouldn’t be around the corner. More like a billion miles away.” Dogmeat whined and looked up at her. “Hm. Okay, well, maybe not a billion miles but it might as well should be..I wonder what other creatures there are around here. Hopefully we steer clear of them.” They walked for a while, checking out abandoned buildings and some lonely properties. She kept her hand on her pistol most of the time, not wanting to risk being ambushed by raiders or who knows what. Again she thanked above for a dog companion. If her ears or senses didn’t pick up anything, his definitely would. And so far, he just sniffed and happily walked beside her. 

She thought what it would have been like if Nate and Shaun was with her. It would be way different, she thought. Not just because they would be there with her, but because all the choices she made up to this point would have never happened. Nate surely wouldn’t have let her fight against the raiders. He always believed the man of the house had the responsibility of protecting the family. Also, she’d be too preoccupied making sure Shaun wouldn’t get hit by bullets or worse. Taking shelter whenever an attacker approached them. No way would she have thought about doing what she had just done recently.   
Maybe being on her own would help. She was able to strengthen herself up mentally and physically. But…she wasn’t always good on her own. Dogmeat stooped in front of her and his happy demeanor turned threatening. “Hey boy, what’s wrong?” she asked him. He growled and walked slowly towards the car in front of her. She crouched beside him and peeked at a building across the street. From the roof, she could see some type of turret scanning the area in front of it and a raider dressed up in heavy armor looking around. The lower broken windows of the building showed a couple more raiders drinking inside and playing a game of cards. 

“I don’t have that much ammo let buddy. And I don’t think you got that much energy to go kill all those guys, especially with the looks of their armor. I think we better find another route. Well, unless you want to go super dog on them, then be my guest.” His growling turned a bit quieter and he huffed, sneaking off to an alleyway. She chuckled a little and followed him. It felt really unnerving to feel that any second someone could jump out and shoot or slit your throat. Her stomach growled a little and she froze. “Death by growling stomach…” she whispered to herself. Not a way someone wants to be caught.  
Even Dogmeat froze and turned to her slowly. “What? Sorry!” she hissed at him. They tiptoed past the building the raiders occupied and continued on their route. Caroline found a bit more ammo in left behind ammo cases and crates, she even found a shotgun. “Ooo…I should be more careful with this. I never used a shotgun. I’ll keep it with me though.” Dogmeat and her continued down a couple of streets and saw up ahead, behind a bus, an armored man guarding what appeared to be an entranceway. Dogmeat tilted his head and so did she. He didn’t look like the other raiders and her gut wasn’t fearful or weary of him. “I think…he might be a good guy. Let’s go see.” 

Caroline carefully made her way towards the back of the bus, and peeked around to see him. He turned to look at her and then looked around. She raised an eyebrow and Dogmeat barked happily and ran up to him. The guard chuckled a bit and spoke in a thick, Scottish accent. “Your dog, miss?” She sighed, relieved. “Oh. Um. Yeah, sorry. Is this Diamond City?” He bent down and gave Dogmeat a treat before nodding and motioning to where a young woman stood. “You got it. Right over there where Piper stands is the entrance.” She smiled and whistled for Dogmeat to follow her and ran towards it. “Thanks!” The guard gave a nod and went back to keeping watch.

The woman, Piper, stood angrily in front of an intercom box and glared at it. Caroline thought it best to just wait until she was done with whatever arguing she was doing. “What do you mean you can’t open the gate. Stop playing around Danny! I’m standing out in the open for crying out loud!” 

“I got orders not to let you in miss piper. I’m sorry I’m just doing my job.” Replied the voice from the intercom.

“Ooo, just doing your job? Keeping Diamond City from the scaryyy reporter!” she waved her hands dramatically in the air.

“Sorry Piper but Mayor McDonough’s really steamed Piper. Says the article you wrote was all lies. The whole city is in a dizzy.”

“ARGHH. You open this gate right now! Danny Sullivan! I live here you can’t just lock me out!” She sighed defeatedly and turned towards Caroline. “Damn..” Caroline stared awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. Piper’s eyes brightened and whispered to her, “Hey. Pst. You. Play along ~” 

“What?” Caroline stared at her still/ Piper turned herself a bit towards the intercom and spoke loud. “Oh, what’s this? You’re a trader up from Quincy? Enough supplies to keep the store stocked for a month!? YOU HEAR THAT DANNY.” Her mouth was right in front of the intercom now. “YOU GONNA LET US IN OR ARE YOU GONNA BE TALKING TO CRAZY MYRNA ABOUT LOSING OUT ON ALL THIS SUPPLY!”   
Caroline knew he must have fallen back against something because there was an “Ooof!” and the sounds of boxes tumbling down. It took a minute for Danny to reply. GEEZ! Alright! Gimme a minute.” In less than that, the front entrance opened up and Piper strolled in with her. “Thanks. We better head in before Danny realizes we tricked him. Welcome to Diamond City, the big green jewel of the Commonwealth. Love it or hate it. You’ll see soon enough.” Caroline watched her carefully and followed her until they were stopped by a beige suited man. Once he saw Piper he argued furiously with her. They made smart comments back and forth and Caroline couldn’t help but compare it to the same way some truth-seeking reporters spoke to powerful politicians back in her day. The level of sassiness coming from Piper made Caroline chuckle a little. 

Piper turned to her and asked her about her opinion of the news and free speech. Caroline knew that any word on a sensitive topic could turn someone for or against you. And that sometimes what you really believed could be overlooked by any wrong slip of the tongue..”Uh..well I do believe the news has the right to look for the truth. And also only report the truth. Lies aren’t acceptable.” Piper smiled and nodded, “Yeah! And I don’t report lies! I report the truth no one knows about and the truth everyone is afraid to acknowledge.” She turned to Caroline, “You know. People who fear the truth or are afraid their evil plans will be exposed by the truth, find it easier to just pass off them off as lies. Right, Mayor?” She turned towards him and smirked. He sighed and rubbed his face, “Piper you will give me a heart attack. Oh. I’m so sorry that you had to get dragged into this conversation. Miss. Welcome to Diamond City!” He smiled a genuine smile at Caroline. She smiled back and nodded, “Thanks. It looks promising so far. But. I’m actually here…looking for my son, Shaun. Can you help me?” 

The Mayor looked over at Piper who looked ready to make a comment and cut her off by saying, “ I don’t know how much I can be of service but rest assured there are some people in my city will be sure to help you. Some of my citizens may know something; I suggest you speak to them. Now excuse me, I’m sorry, but I must get back to work.” Caroline felt it was a bit rude to leave on that note but he was the mayor and this did look like a big city so she bid him goodbye and looked over at Piper.   
Piper scoffed. “Busy running his mouth and counting caps. Can’t even spare one guard to help you out. That dumbass….So..your son.. he’s missing? I’m sorry, it must be rough…Hey, if you don’t mind. I’d like to get your story. Drop by my office later and we’ll talk.” With that, she left Caroline alone standing there with Dogmeat. Caroline sighed.   
“Come on, Boy. Let’s go find someone who can help us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say thank you for those who are reading and left kudos ^^ I'm sort of new at this so its really encouraging! Thank you and more updates are on their way


	7. Detective Valentine

Diamond City wasn’t what she expected. It was very impressive and the people there seemed friendly enough. It was so weird seeing them so happy and making incredible use with items she never thought had that much of a purpose. She thought back to her time and how everything was so different. The style. The expectations. Caroline looked at the stores that were set up and window shopped. She began to understand the currency had one of the store owners explain it to her. 

“Whatcha been living under a rock, hon?” He barked out a laugh and lit up a cigarette. Well, underground for sure, she thought. She thanked him for his time and asked around for help. People listened and said they hadn’t seen a baby of her description around but that if she wanted to get anywhere, she should go see the detective. 

Detectives still exist now? Judging by the people’s opinion, this detective seemed like the best shot at finding her son. Nick Valentine. She chuckled and thought more about his last name. “Sounds like a name from the classic romance movie. And he’s a detective, which makes it all the more better. Okay, Nick Valentine it is!” Dogmeat barked and the two strolled past the city school and located Valentine’s office.  
Caroline opened the door gently and peeked inside. It seemed empty at first until a young woman popped up from behind a rusty desk, holding a stack of thing papers. “I swear sometimes I could just kill him!” Her voice was a mixture of sadness and irritation. Caroline opened the door fully and cleared her throat, “Um, excuse me?” 

The woman dropped the papers she was holding and it scattered all over the room. “Oh shoot. Oh, Hello. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She looked at Caroline sadly “But I’m afraid it’s too late. Office is closed.” Caroline frowned and stepped forward a bit, “Please miss, it’s really important. I won’t take too long, I promise.” The woman thought about and nodded. “Of course, I’m sorry. It may be important but…the detective. He’s not here. He’s…missing.” She sat down at the desk and rubbed her temples. 

Of course another bad thing had to happen, Caroline thought. Locate a detective who could be the biggest help she could get in finding her son. Nope! He’s missing. She shook her head and sat down in front of the woman. “What’s your name?”

The woman looked up at her. “Ellie, Ellie Perkins. Nick Valentine’s secretary. “  
“It’s nice to meet you, Ellie. You know, maybe I can help. I could go locate Nick for you and bring him back. Any idea where he was last seen?”

Ellie looked at her hopefully. “You would do that? Oh, and yes. He went to work on a case. Skinny Malone appeared to kidnap a woman and Nick tracked him down to his hideout in Park Street Station. There’s an old vault there. I TOLD him it was a trap…but no..Nicky just smiled that smile of his and walked out.” She shook her head and laughed a bit. “He is too cocky. Knew that would catch up to him. Please find him. I’ll pay you if you want.” She reached into her pocket but Caroline quickly shook her head. There was no way she could take money like that. “No, no. It’s fine, you don’t have to repay me. Don’t worry, I’ll find him and bring him back.” She looked at Dogmeat and smiled. “Let’s move.” 

Maybe this job was a bit harder than she thought. She expected maybe like five or ten enemies but it seemed more than that. She ran with Dogmeat as bullets flew at her, looking back to shoot every once in a while. Dogmeat attacked two more men up ahead and bit deep into one of their faces. Caroline noticed the man screaming in pain and grabbing the area of his eye after Dogmeat let go. He swiped the air blindly and fell over the railing, landing onto of a metal structure. *crack* She cringed and checked the rooms as they passed them. She collected some stimpaks and whatever else she could find. “This place has so many freaking hallways and rooms, Dogmeat. Got anything?” He sniffed and began going down a couple more hallways and up stairs. She fired at more enemies that were cautiously checking the rooms for her and noted that she was getting better at aiming. 

Everything was now quiet as Dogmeat and her went up another flight of steps and saw on their right a man looking into a window, bickering with someone on the other side. “Shut up, Valentine.” He must be in there, she thought. Dogmeat waited for her command and after a quick whistle he bolted towards the man and knocked him down. Caroline ran over quickly and shot him directly in the head. The blood splattered back onto her and Dogmeat shook himself off. She quickly turned away and held her breath. “He’s a bad guy. He’s a bad guy. He would have killed you. You came here to save someone..” she let out some air and heard someone behind her.

“Hey! You! I don’t know who you are but we have three minutes before they realize muscles for brains ain’t coming back. Get this door open!” She turned to the terminal and her eyes scanned over the words and numbers and symbols. In a couple of seconds she heard a ding and the door beside her opened wide. She walked in and stared at the man she came to find.

Well…he wasn’t really a man, technically. She looked him up and down and focused onto his face. It was pale-ish and his skin was torn in some areas, exposing a metallic jaw-like structure underneath. His eyes were bright yellow and looked right at hers. 

“Gotta love the irony of the reversed damsal in distress scenario.” He chuckled, lighting up a cigarette. “Question is, why did my heroine risk life and limb for a an old private eye?” 

She still stared dumbly at him. “Uh..what exactly..are you?”

He sighed, “Look, I know this look isn’t comforting but I find the bigger question being why you came through all this trouble trying to cut me loose.”  
“It’s um..complicated. I’m looking for someone. And I don’t know exactly where they could or how long they’ve been gone. I needed your help but when I went to your office, Ellie said you were gone. She told me this was the place you said you were going to, so I told her I would find you and bring you back.” 

He smiled, “Ah, Ellie. Always a miracle worker. Yeah, I’ve been here for weeks. Turns out the runaway girl was Skinny Malone’s new flame. She’s got a mean streak on her. Anyway, you got trouble and I’ll be there to help. But first lets blow this joint.” He winked and made his way out the door. Dogmeat barked a little and she turned around to see him trying to grab a bobble head off the desk. “Dogmeat now is not the time to be looking for toys.” She picked it up and read the white words on it. “Vault-Tech- Speech. “Let your words be your weapon.” What a weird thing to make. She took it anyway, she thought it was cute.  
“Let’s go follow Nick, boy.” She chased after Nick who was quite a distance from now, checking the area for anymore of Skinny Malone’s men. “Skinny Malone and his boys are probably waiting for us somewhere. Keep alert.” They made their way towards the exit where, as Nick guessed, waited Malone and his crew. 

Malone shook his head disappointingly and look at Nick. “Nicky, What are you doin’? You come to my house, shoot at my guys. You have any idea how far this is gonna set me back?”  
The two went back and forth and Caroline silently watched from behind, keeping an eye on Malone’s goons. After thinking about it, she began to reason it was best just leaving the girl. She sounded like a pain in the butt. And it also sounded like she was a just confused..

“Darla..you don’t want this. Look, you have a family who’s waiting for you.” Darla’s eyes watered a bit and she lowered the baseball bat in her hand. “I…I..you’re right! What am I doing…That’s it! I’m going home, skinny! Its over!” She threw the bat down and ran out.

Wow, that actually work, Caroline thought surprised. Skinny watched helplessly and spoke to Nick with a voice of a child who had all his favorite toys taken away from him. “Really Valentine. You come in here and take everything away from me? That’s it. I’m giving you to the count of ten to leave this place or ill kill you. Ten..” Nick grabbed Caroline’s sleeve and made him was quickly out the exit, whistling for Dogmeat to follow.

Outside, he looked up at the sky and smiled, “Ah…look at that Commonwealth sky. Never thought anything so ominous could look so inviting…” He sighed happily and turned to look at her. “Thanks, doll. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been worse off.”

She nodded slowly, not really paying attention. She crept a bit closer and poked his cheek. He raised an eyebrow and she tilted her head. “What..are you Nick?” He gave her a strange look. “You really don’t know? I’m a synth. Synthetic man. All the parts, minus a few red blood cells. Got built, got old, got tossed. Now I’m a detective helping out those who need the help.” He smiled a little, still feeling a bit uncomfortable as she stared at his hand. “Synthetic…man…huh…” He heard her whisper slowly.

“Well. Yeah, but anyway, you said you needed help? Well I’m your synth. Meet me back at my office and we can talk about your case.” She nodded and they both made their way back to Diamond City.


	8. The investigation

“Nick is that you!” Ellie hugged him tightly after he walked through the door of the office. Her face then changed into one of anger and she punched his arm. 

“You moron! What were you thinking!” He laughed and sat down in his chair. “It’s alright, Ellie. See, I’m safe now.” He gave her a cocky grin and she shook her head. “You laugh in the face of death. One day, its gonna laugh back at you, mister.” She turned to Caroline. 

“Thank you so much for saving nick. Here. I know we didn’t agree to this but take it anyway.” She handed over 150 caps. “You deserve more but that’s all I can spare. You know, you should think about being Nick’s partner! He could use one to help h-“ Nick cut her off, “Now now, Ellie. We got to work on her case first before anything. Alright then, have a seat and let’s get started.”  
Caroline sat down and began to describe, as detailed as possible, what she remembered. Ellie took down notes and Nick rubbed his chin and listened intently. She could see his golden eyes narrow at some parts and express some sadness in others. Despite only knowing her for a very short amount of time he seemed to really care about what happened to her and her family. After she said everything she had to, Nick nodded. “Yup. Whoever stole your kid had an agenda. No doubt they were professionals. I would definitely rule out Super Mutants and raider. Those idiots couldn’t manage themselves, much less an operation like this. The Gunners are a bit more likely candidates but I’ll have to gather more information. The Institute could definitely be a suspect as well.”   
Caroline looked at them blankly. The Institute? Super Mutants? The Gunners? Looks like she had a lot to learn. She shyly asked Nick to explain who they were and they spent about an hour or so going over information, locations, and descriptions. “Yes, you’re going to have to learn quickly if you want to survive here in the Commonwealth.” 

“Y-y-yeah I’m going to have to aren’t I..” she gave out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. “To protect myself..I don’t know why that one man left me alive…bald man, scar across his left eye. Just left me in there.” Nick looked up at her quickly and snapped his head towards Ellie. “Ellie. Kellogg. You getting the same feeling as me?” Ellie nodded quickly and pulled out a file from one of the cabinets. “yeah, of course. His description matches and his skills would come in might handy for pulling off this operation. I remember he bought a house here in diamond city, and he was seen with a male child around the age of 10-”she turned quickly to Caroline, “but we can’t confirm that is your son. It could be his own child.” Caroline nodded. As much as she hoped it was shaun, it could be someone from his own family.   
She found herself zoning out at the thought of him being that old already. Would he even want to go with her? Of course he was her son, but to him, she was no one. A stranger. Some woman who is just going to take him away from everything he’s ever known. It was painful to think about. She felt a connection to him only a mother could feel. It was like part of her soul was gone. Well two parts. Her husband, but she would never get that part back. Ever. With shaun, she had a chance. She could get her son back and, in a way, part of her past life. He was the only thing she needed now. She frowned. I wonder if they treated him well, she thought.

“-go check out the house.” She stood up with Nick and followed him out of the office and towards Kellogg’s residence. She trailed behind him and glanced at nick’s back. I wonder if he feels everything a human does, she pondered. 

“I don’t actually. And I hear lots of things, and a bit more, than humans do as well.” He chuckled and glanced back at her. Her eyes widened, “O-oh, I didn’t mean to, uh, say that uh…y-yeah?” He laughed,” Don’t worry, doll. I know you didn’t mean anything negative from it. Least you say it more kindly than others. But yes. Even as an old synth, I feel most emotions that people feel. “He walked up some stairs and towards a door. “Hm…locked. You think you can jimmy it?” She stared at the lock and quickly shook her head, “I, um, I’m not at that level yet I think.” He shrugged and looked over in the distance. “The mayor’s office is up there. Maybe you could get him to give you the keys, he might be willing to help. If anything, I’ll be here trying to kill this lock.” Nick knelt down in front of it and after a few failed attempts began tapping on it lightly. “Stupid thing..” 

Caroline smiled a little and walked towards the mayor’s office. “I’m sure he will, he seems like a nice man.”


	9. Mcdonough

Caroline stood there as Piper argued with the secretary about speaking to the Mayor. It was a little entertaining to see and Caroline almost wanted to stay. But, she had more important things to get to first. The secretary allowed her in and sighed at piper, “Piper, if you used softer words to get a man’s attention. I think he’d listen. But shouting at every person you don’t particularly like or agree with will get you nowhere, hon.” Caroline awkwardly walked past them and overheard Piper saying that her next article would be about a love affair between the secretary and the mayor. The girl has guts, Caroline thought.  
The doors shut behind her and she looked around. The mayor wasn’t in the room at the moment and she guessed that he was somewhere in the backrooms doing something. She strolled around the room and looked at different objects. This office wasn’t as grand as ones she seen back then but they made it as good as they could get. Her eyes scanned over the paintings on the wall and she smiled. There was one of a large lake and fall colored tress in the background. It was really beautiful back then. She passed by the mayors desk and saw a picture frame turned downward. 

“Must of fallen..” she picked it up and set it back straight. She looked at the people in the picture. It took her a while to recognize that one of the men in the picture was the mayor when he was younger. He seemed happy and a bit thinner than he was now. Her eyes shifted to the man next to him. He was a handsome, blonde man and had his arm thrown around the mayor’s shoulder, grinning. Family? 

Oh, hello!” came the mayors voice behind her. She jumped and laughed, “O-h! Hi! I was just..y-your picture fell so I fixed it.” She smiled and looked back at it.  
The mayor became quiet and shifted a little. “It didn’t fall..but thank you. Yes, that’s my..” He cleared his throat. “That’s my brother. “ She raised an eyebrow and looked at him, “Really? You two look kinda different from one another.” 

He chuckled, “We were very different, my brother and I. He was the black sheep of the family. Use to live here actually, but uh..decided to leave.”  
“Oh” Caroline murmured shyly. She felt the atmosphere become a little tense so she decided to change the subject. “Um, Mayor McDonough, Nick Valentine sent me to talk to you about getting a key to a certain house in the city.”

“A key?..I don’t know about that, miss. You see, my citizens have a right to privacy. I can’t just be giving away access to their homes.”  
Caroline frowned and began to please with him. “You don’t understand, Mayor. The man, Kellogg, he kidnapped my baby. I need to find him.”

“I’m sorry..there’s nothing I can do with just your word alone. My word is final. I can’t go bending the rules for one person. I’m sorry. Now excuse me I need to do some work. Maybe we can speak about this another time.” He walked to another room in the back and shut the door. 

Caroline glared at the door and began to make her way to the exit until she stopped in front of his desk. “…….” She peeked at the backrooms and the closed doors beside her. “uh...hm…” She began checking the drawers and found one that held keys with labels on them. “Hand, what are you doing, don’t do that.” She grabbed the key and slipped it into her pocket, “oops.” She quickly left the room and went back to nick.


	10. The trail

"You got the key? Atta girl" Nick smiled and took the key from her. He unlocked the door and Dogmeat excitedly ran inside, followed closely by Nick and Caroline who looked around cautiously. No one was in there, and it was kinda small. Nick began telling her to check for anything they could use or maybe anything that could hold a secret compartment. Caroline checked the desks and the bed as Nick went over every inch of the first floor. The bed looked liked it hadn't been slept on in a while. The desk beside it held a coffee pot, some cups, and other stuff she wasn't really interested in. Dogmeat sniffed the bed and growled at the scent.

"Nick I can't find anything useful.." she said, rummaging through the items in the drawers. She could hear Nick huff a bit downstairs. " Something's not right, search for some buttons. A switch of some kind." She walked back down the stairs, glancing at the desk at the bottom of the steps. Underneath she noticed a glint of red. Bending down to check it, a button could be seen on the underside of the desk. "Nick, I found a button!" She said happily as she slammed her fist on it. Buttons were always something fun to press. Well, except when they shot out nuclear warheads, she thought bitterly. They both heard the sound of mechanical wheels turning the side of the wall, near the door, slid open, revealing a hidden room. Inside it, there was a fancy leather chair sitting next to a small table holding some beer bottles, Nuka Colas, and cigars. Along the side of the wall, there were steel shelves holding various ammo, items, and food. She picked up a glowing blue Nuka Cola. "Nuka Quantum? How does it glow?.."

"Look at that, all of Kellogg's favorite things." Nick said. Carline took most of what was in the room and checked the cigars on the table .San Fransisco Sunlights..she tuned it once over in her hand before looking at  Nick. "Any suggestions, Nick?" He thought for a minute and glanced at a panting Dogmeat. "well. Dogmeat here could help ya a lot better than I could at tracking down Kellogg. You can use his nose. The cigars are an interesting brand so he may be carrying some on him, something your buddy can track. However, I think this is something you may have to do alone. It is your fight. Just. Don't be afraid of Kellogg, or anything that the Commonwealth tries to throw at you. You can do this." He smiled reassuringly and Carolin could feel the pits of her stomach turn. Nick was right, this was her fight. And she always felt bad about asking others to help her in her fights. She nodded and shifted awkwardly. "Y-yeah, you're right Nick. Thank you, for everything." Her emotions got the better of her and she quickly walked up to hug him. He stiffened at first to her touch, but then hugged gently back. "Your welcome, doll. If you do need anything, just come knockin' on my door. got it?" She nodded, and whistled for Dogmeat to follow her out.

After she let Dogmeat sniff the cigar for a bit, she followed him out of Diamond City. Again, she thanks God for having her cross  paths with Dogmeat. It was a wonder to her how dogs were able to track scents. Her companion ran quickly and she had to sprint at times just to keep up with him. They stopped at various locations, finding more clues and scents for her and Dogmeat to work with. Her heart beat loudly and her hopes began to rise at the thought of seeing Shaun soon.Along the way, she also found some more weapons. A sniper was the newest weapon to add to her inventory. Something about snipers always stuck with her. Maybe it was the amount of skill and patience it took someone to accurately shoot fro ma distance and the stealthiness required to make sure you weren't seen. She took a couple of practice shots and discovered she wasn't that bad at more. She'd get more practice as the time passed.

They continued on the trail, crossing over a bridge. She paused to catch her breath. "H-hold...up...Dog...meat..." she said in between breaths. Caroline rested against one of the vehicles and Dogmeat trotted next to her. He tilted his head, panting with his tongue sticking out. "H-hey.." she breathed out. "Just because I don't...have the same energy as you..doesn't mean you can taunt me with that look. " He barked. He then growled at her/ She raised an eyebrow. "H-hey boy, whats wrong?" He took a defensive stance and jumped up, snapping his teeth at the hand reaching to grab her neck. Caroline gasped and fell back onto the floor. She looked up and saw a rotting person sliding out the window of the bus she was leaning against. It growled and hissed at her. 

"No. We are gone. Dog meat lets move!" She stood up and stumbled a bit before running across the bridge, creatures crawling out of the vehicles around her. Dogmeat followed closely behind and ran under one of their legs. "Run run run!" she screamed. She glanced back to see a hoard of the creatures running after them. It was frightening to say the least. Dogmeat sped up and she sprinted like there was no tomorrow. After a while, she managed to shake them off when they passed a raider campground. Lucky coincidence.  She sure felt the adrenaline as she dodged flying bullets and ran through the compound. She feared that some of the creatures would still follow her but was reassured when she heard a raider shout, "Shit! Ferals! Come at me fuckerssss!" Well, props to him for giving it his all.


End file.
